where does the time go?

I cannot believe how busy I am at the moment and this should be my lul before the summer storm :)
I have painting to finish and floors to lay in the cattery units and other maintenance bit to do.

So where is my time going?

Well :) We do have two litters of puppies which are real time wasters :) They do take a lot of care, putting food in one end and cleaning up the other before they plaster it all over each other. I cannot wait to get them out in the fresh air for a little while but at just 3 weeks they are still too young.

We have cockatoo puppies too. Born Saturday. They are noisy but no trouble at the moment as Jess is doing a fantastic job. Good girl.

I have several of my other girls in season so coordinating their mating when the studs are available takes some doing too. I usually mate, when she is receptive then 24 hours later so very time consuming but worth it when we see the lovely puppies we produce.

Then we have the fun day looming so my grounds have to be well prepared. I spent all afternoon mowing the parking field. Ill finish that off today. We are busy chasing stall holders and demonstrations. Ensuring we have commitment wherever we can. We need to have the running order for the day in place and details of the sponsors to we can utilise Mel's dad to sign write the "thank you" board.

We now have as entertainment

Heal work to music
Dog obedience demonstration
Dog agility and 'come and have a go"

Birds of pray
pony rides
Little pigs
Quad bikes
Remote controlled cars and oodles more

And I have my new horse too. I have put him on a friends yard as he was clearly lonely. He has settled very well and is much calmer. He needs some work to build up his muscles but is proving a joy to work with

What's happening down on the farm?

 I have a new (second hand ) mower so been mowing anything that stands still long enough in preparation for May Day charity event. Hope we are going to see you, your family and friends. 

We have managed to secure a demonstration of dog agility with a "have a go session" which will be fun I have no doubt. Why not come along and "have a go" it is great for the dogs, they love it once they get the hang of it and it certainly helps with their training.

I am trying to work out how to fill in some of the moat so when I create the big, new dog run for the boarders I can let them have the run of part of our island. They will love it as there are trees for the boys to do what only boy dogs do well :) The ground is undulating which will be fun for them to run and play on. The first, lovely job for me is to go into the stagnant water to put an extension on the pipe that brings storm water in off the roofs of the houses. Nice but some one has to do it :)

Marian has been helping me as we have given the cattery a spring clean. I'm hoping she will be around next week too to help with my mammoth task of painting it all. My cattery is now quite a few years old and people do comment on how fresh, clean and definitely non smelly it is and that is my mission to maintain.

My new horse is proving a little trick as he is in need of company, they are herd animals after all. Being here alone isn't nice as he calls to the many horses next door but no one calls back. 

I am worried about hacking on these dreadful roads as many of the drivers these days don't seem to acknowledge there is a person on the back of that horse and clearly think you have no right to be there as they squeeze you into the curb. 

I may move him to a "better place"

He is a lovely boy with the most fantastic paces, just needs some good quality work and muscling up in the "correct" way. A great project for me and as his underlaying nature is kind that is going to be very rewarding. I have only had him two weeks tomorrow so very early days.

What have I been up to? :)

Extension of cattery now has double, exterior cladding, heat pads, electric lights and I have started painting, the floor covering will be the last job then all ready for the summer rush :)
We have put a smart sink with a fantastic, instant water heater in too for washing the pots. No longer will they have to go into my house kitchen.

Cleaning of dog and cat units never stops as I am so determined never to have smelly units so as we have been very busy over Easter that has kept me busy too.

Ok, this is what I have been up to too :)

I have bought myself a new horse. Well it is my passion and I'm no longer providing them for my boys as they are off doing other things. Teenage boys :) This is my time
This gorgeous boy is 12 years old 16.3hh so big ish. He is a lovely natured and a very honest horse. I have had lots of fun with him already and only had him 1 week. The lovely people who had him for 5 years I know are missing him but we will, undoubtedly stay in touch. He has only ever had 2 homes which is quite something in the horse world. I'll let you know what we get up to and how we get on if you like?

Back to business

Bookings are coming in for summer so please don't delay or there won't be any room at the inn

Family Fun and Doggy Day plans are well underway and I really hope it is a huge success and the two children's charities we raise funds for will benefit also
Mel and I think this will be our last one so please make sure you join us for a fun day out

Down on the farm

I am creating another two, large dog runs.

One takes the dogs onto our island where I have retained some trees. The boy dogs, especially will enjoy that :) The netting is on its way so you know what I shall be doing next week.
I just need to decide what to put on the ground as earth just doesn't work. My gravel play surface works well or maybe sand?

The other is in my horse menage which is providing a huge area for the dogs to have a great run around. It isn't being used at the moment so it is such a waste. I have put 40 tonnes of sand on top of the rubber so the dogs don't pick up the black staining and I just need to put netting on over of the post and rail and we are ready to go. Any high energy, who won't/cannot jump over 4 feet will get to use it and I can think of many. I may put a shelter in there too and they could play out lots and have a place to rest when they need one.


My boys are doing great
Eldest has just bought an MX5 to "do up" and I guess sell at some point but he and his mates are really enjoying it
My middle son is preparing for his A level exams but he has secured a place at De Montford uni to study business management with HR
My youngest had a great school report. He is first year GCSE's and should do very well. He is loving his rugby and becoming very invoked with it too

They main point is they are all happy. They continue to help me when I really need it (they are teenage boys :)) They have watched our business grow from piles of rubble and an empty grass paddock and I take great pride in the positive influence it has had on them and educated them that hard work does reap rewards.  ooo getting a little sentimental here :)

Dog boarding extension I think will happen after the summer when the ground is harder to take heavy wagons. Watch this space, as they say

Improvements

I have been busy :)

We now have a gate entry warning system which lets us know, where ever we are, of peoples arrival

We now have a CCTV system which I can log onto when I'm out and about. It alerts me, on my mobile when ever there is movement too.

We now have electric gates which open only at set times

All of these measures have been taken to enhance security as your pets, whilst in my care are very important. We have had no problems with intruders and I am making sure we never do :)

We also have sensors on the lights which automatically turn them off which is good news for the bill payer (me)

My digger man is coming this week to move some soil so we can create an additional run for the boarders. I am trying to take it onto our island a little and incorporate some trees which will be nice for the boy dogs (if you know what I mean) also for playing chase around. The dogs will have fun whilst on their holiday.

This way of life is very rewarding. I have many stories of nervous, frightened dogs who have settled well and thoroughly enjoyed their stay so much so their next visit it is with a waggy tail.

I recently looked after a 7 months old, toy poodle who the vets told the owner they would have to sedate to microchip and a dog groomer couldn't get near. He left us a happy, well socialised little boy, fully groomed, microchipped and very welcome to return. His owners were delighted and have booked him in again.

Down on the farm

The bookings for both cat and dog boarding are coming in steadily. Summer is going to be very busy of course and I am wondering whether to build the extra kennels I have permission to build in readiness.

This is a significant cost/investment but will cause upheavel in the short term.

I am, however waiting for the digger man to come to move some earth around as I am going to create a run which encompassed part of an island which has some great trees for the dogs to run and play around. This will also give me 3 separate exercise areas to have very small numbers of dogs out in to ensure good behaviour and NO dog fights. I do love to stand back and watch them play. It makes it all worthwhile.

Family Fun and Doggy Day

Family Fun and Doggy Day

Monday 4th May

 Yes, Mel and I are holding it again.

The purpose is to raise funds for Findern Primary School and Gadelii School for orphaned children Tanzania so two worthwhile causes

The day is built around a FUN dog show with rosettes and prizes

We cater for the very young with bouncy castle, marry go round and a whole host of fun things to do

There is plenty to do for all us 'adults" too with trade stands to wander around and good old fashioned fair ground games, bbq and cream tea to enjoy

Please help to support the day by coming along. It really is a fun and very economical day out for all the family

If you have any interest in taking a trade stall please contact me